Mine projects update sees end of 'millennium mining boom'

Owen Jacques is an award-winning investigative journalist from Mackay, now based on the Sunshine Coast as APN Australian Regional Media’s Online News Editor. He has a strong background reporting on politics, business and breaking news. Owen has also specialised in resources reporting, which included a successful campaign to fight 100% fly-in, fly-out mining in rural Queensland towns.

AUSTRALIA'S resources industry is at the start of a decline in investment that may not bottom out for at least five years.

The Federal Government's top industry experts - the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics - released its latest major projects update on Wednesday.

Investment is predicted to fall from $268 billion for confirmed mining and energy projects in 2013 to about $70 billion in 2017.

It marks the end of what was deemed the "millennium mining boom", when $394 billion was spent developing 390 projects in the decade from 2003 to 2012.

Of those, $268 billion is currently being spent on 73 projects still under construction.

The forecast decline will be a shock, but investment is expected to match amounts spent in 2007, a year of booming and record-breaking funding as Australia sat on the cusp of the global financial crisis

Even as we reach the tipping point, $88.7 billion of near-certain investment is flowing for Queensland and New South Wales.

Of the $6.7 billion for NSW, $500 million will be spent on the Boggabri open-cut coal mine and a further billion invested for the Hunter Valley Corridor rail project.

In Queensland, $81 billion is being pumped into the emerging coal seam gas to liquefied natural gas industry for three massive Gladstone developments worth a total of $63 billion.